This invention relates to enclosures for electrical cables, and in particular to a new and improved enclosure suitable for use in enclosing splices in telephone cables, which is sometimes referred to as a free breathing aerial enclosure.
In a typical installation, the telephone cables are supported overhead on a messenger cable and conductors in the various cables are spliced togeher by a workman while in the overhead position, and the resultant splices are enclosed in a protective enclosure.
One type of enclosure used in the past is in the form of a flexible boot or sleeve having an axial slit or opening along one side. After the electrical splicing has been completed, the sleeve is spread apart and positioned over the splice and the cables. Typically the sleeve is tapered at the ends to provide a closer fit with the cables themselves. Various types of fasteners are used for closing the sleeve along the slit, and sometimes a potting compound is introduced into the sleeve. Typical enclosures of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,084,067; 4,084,066; 4,015,072; 3,916,086; and 3,916,082.
Another type of cable enclosure used in the past comprises two pieces generally semicircular in shape, with the two pieces being bolted or otherwise joined together about the splice and cables. Typically the two pieces are cast of metal or molded of a rigid plastic. Enclosures of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,915,540 and 3,798,349.
Another type of enclosure sometimes used is a flexible sheet or sheets of material, typically plastic, which are wrapped around the splice and cables after completion of the splice. An enclosure of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,298.
Cable splices are made by workmen in the field under difficult working conditions. The workman is up in the air at the cable height, working from a ladder or from an aerial platform. A dropped part or a dropped tool often means a trip to the ground for a replacement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved cable enclosure which is very easy to work with in the air, and which is usable for enclosing an initial splicing operation, and equally usable with subsequent splices. An additional object of the inventor is to provide such a cable enclosure which can be installed and used as a single unit. An additional object is to provide such a cable enclosure which can be attached to a messenger cable, with all of the components assembled with the enclosure so that there are no loose parts for dropping or misplacing. It is another object of the invention to provide such a cable enclosure which can be removed from the cable splice area, exposing the splice area from all sides, while maintaining the cable enclosure suspended at the work site and ready for positioning about the splice when work is completed.
These and other objects, advantages, features and results will more fully appear in the course of the following description.